The Workshop in History, Culture, and Society (HCS) presentation by Melinda Miller, Assitant Professor of Economics, Virginia Tech.

Abstract: In 1863, the Cherokee Nation abolished slavery within its borders.  The standard account of this action typically neglects to mention that Nation’s National Council actually passed two separate emancipation acts.  The first called for ending slavery only if the Federal government agreed to compensate Union-loyal slave owners for doing so. Just three days later, this act was replaced by a law that prescribed universal, uncompensated emancipation.  These acts have had a lasting impact on issues of inclusion, belonging, and citizenship in the Cherokee.  To understand fully the importance of this Council, Cherokee abolition, and the Cherokee Nation’s role in the Civil War, the details and subtleties of both Cherokee emancipation acts must be brought into sharper focus to reveal the many actors and ideals shaping this particular historical moment. To do so requires illuminating the arrest, and subsequent parole, of Principal Chief John Ross in of July 1862, the subsequent schism that emerged in the Cherokee Nation, and the 1866 treaty between the Cherokee Nation and the United States.  By reconstructing the process of emancipation within the Cherokee Nation, this article seeks to contribute a rich and nuanced story to the historiography of the Civil War that highlights the complexity and fluidity of emancipation as peoples and governments throughout the United States contemplated what freedom meant.